From Kurt Mattix's early days growing up with a coach as a father to his time as a staff intern at Michigan under Brady Hoke, the 1994 Portage graduate has been a lifelong sponge, soaking up information about the sport of football.

Griffith High School students came out Thursday afternoon for a pep rally to support the boys basketball team. The Panthers will play for the state Class 3A championship Saturday in Indianapolis. It is the first time the school has ever played for a state championship in basketball.

MUNSTER — An all-around wobbly preliminary performance and a failure to qualify for the championship heat in the 100-yard butterfly could have easily squashed the spirits of Munster senior Wilson Beckman.

INDIANAPOLIS — The postseason run for Griffith took another odd turn on Monday when Indianapolis Guerin coach Pete Smith said he doesn't believe the Panthers should be playing in the Class 3A state title game on Saturday.

Valparaiso sophomore Mario Losi pitched his first collegiate shutout on Sunday, throwing a four-hitter as the Crusaders blanked Youngstown State 4-0 at Emory Bauer Field to complete a three-game Horizon League baseball sweep.

Valparaiso University pole vaulter Justin Zosso, a Chesterton grad, broke the school record by almost eight inches on Saturday to highlight the Crusader's showing at St. Joseph's Gene Edmonds Invitational in Rensselaer.

HUNTINGTON — Even in the biggest moment of them all, after a handful of Griffith students had spilled onto the Huntington North floor, after his team had piled on top of each other near the free-throw line, after Griffith had defeated Fort Wayne Dwenger 51-45 for its first semistate, Gary...

MUNCIE — It did occur to Valparaiso senior Rushelle Miller that her floor exercise routine in the final rotation of the IHSAA Gymnastics State Finals was going to be the last performance of her high school career.

Allyson Leach drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning to snap a tie and lift Purdue Calumet's softball team past Michigan-Dearborn 8-7 in the opener of a doubleheader at Hammond's Dowling Park. Olivia Donley hit a two-run homer for the Peregrines (9-7), and she and Jess Loy...

VALPARAISO — One focus during last week's practices for Crown Point junior Hannah Best was getting higher in the air during her vault routine. Coach Ami Pysh said she'd started noticing a difference, too.

Region powerlifter Jared Martin's efforts at a prestigious competition were good enough for a gold medal. Honored by the best-in-class award at the recent Arnold Sports Festival, the Merrillville resident's excitement is tempered by a quest for continuous improvement.

Being the big man on your high school campus doesn't guarantee stardom at the next level. It's a lesson strong basketball egos have trouble dealing with, but Valparaiso University's Nick Davidson has adjusted.

In February of 2014, Timothy S. Schafer, a high-powered personal injury attorney from Merrillville who never had any intention of taking a dime from his nephew Shane Schafer for his services, received two checks from the Indiana High School Athletic Association for the sum of $139,693.91.

NORTH JUDSON — Trailing by six points to start the fourth quarter of his team's Class 2A Norrth Judson Regional championship game against LaVille, Bishop Noll coach Josh Belluomini had a short list of changes to the game plan.

Steve Vasturia hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 6:13 left and No. 11 Notre Dame overcame a blown 20-point lead to hold off Miami 70-63 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Two years ago this month, Madison Kurtz was standing atop a podium at Ball State University. She wasn't alone either, standing with her teammates minutes after Portage had won the state championship, the program's first gymnastics state title since 1975.

VALPARAISO — The Horizon League championship celebrations were nowhere near concluding, and Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew was asked about his thoughts on where his team should be seeded in the NCAA tournament.